Post pandemic international shipping rates skyrocketed. Used to be able to order parts from RA and have them shipped to Canada for peanuts. Now the cost savings are eaten by crazy shipping fees, auto parts aren't light
Considering how many "luxury" bags nowadays are "vegan leather", pvc or other plastic byproduct materials... I don't think the material costs that much either.
They’ve been Veblen goods for a while, the price is the flex. Even the marketing has dropped the pretense, any talk of craftsmanship or quality materials has disappeared in favor of lifestyle branding and appeals to the ego.
On the inverse side, there’s MUJI who dont advertise, don’t brand their goods, and purposely design goods that reduce waste.
Muji's quality is kind of crap too, their linens and cottons are thin, of a lower/variable quality weave and not as sustainably acquired as they like to pretend they are. But they ARE natural fabrics/polyester free, so there's that.